When you start in Cities Skylines a new city, you don’t have too many roads. The key is to unlock new and new milestones to get them. But how to upgrade roads effectively? Let’s take look at it!
How to upgrade roads in Cities Skylines?
There is a quick step-by-step guide on how to upgrade roads in Cities Skylines and it is very simple:
- Open building roads tab
- Select “upgrade” method
- Click on roads which you want to upgrade
Where is the “upgrade” method?
The upgrade method is in the building roads tab in modes lines. The icon is a blue exclamation mark and it can be found there as presented in the picture:
How does the roads upgrade look like?
For roads upgrade you must now go for road and click on it…
… in case you want to build one-way roads, then with a “right click” in upgrade mode you can change their direction…
… but in case you see this icon then the roads are not related to each other. That means that drivers will potentially have problems with driving.
More tips for roads in Cities Skylines
Best traffic mods with 6 mods which you need to try
How to build curved roads to create more realistic Cities
Tips how to build raised roads in Cities Skylines to create bridges
About noise pollution and how upgrade current roads in Cities Skylines
Advanced guide for easy building roundabouts and pedestrian overpasses
Why you need use priority roads and how change direction of one-way roads
And the best one is big guide about parking lots in Cities Skylines
Potential problems of the upgrade
Destroying buildings during changing the type
Some upgrades of roads have a negative influence on zones which are built around the road. If you change from a basic “two-lane” to a “four-lane” (which is wider) then roads will be bigger and buildings will be destroyed. If they don’t destroy them, then the new roads don’t fit.
Destroying your bus lines
When you optimize traffic/upgrade/or change roads, you can have a problem with bus lines which won’t connect after the unpausing of the game. I would recommend changing the colour of the lines and connecting them.
Why use upgrading roads in Cities Skylines (and which ones)?
As I mentioned above, at the start you don’t have all types of roads and when your city grows, you unlock new types gradually. Some types of roads have 🟢 positive effects and some have 🔴 negative effects. Some roads have special functional purposes like bus lines or cycling lines.
When use road upgrades?
- To increase land value
- To decrease noise pollution
- To optimize traffic of buses, trams, cycling,…
- To build one-way roads
- For removing parking lots
- For an increase in sidewalk parts
Don’t forget that you must select which roads you want to use for expanding your city. Also, be aware of the fact that by abolishing the zone you lose residents. It makes sense to make these big changes gradually and with composure.
| Type of zone/road | The best type of road to use |
|---|---|
| Low Density Residential Zones | Two-Lane Road with Trees |
| High Density Residential Zones | Large Avenue with Grass |
| Low Density Commercial Zones | Two-Lane Road with Trees |
| High Density Commercial Zones | Four-Lane Road with Decorative Trees |
| Industrial Zones | Medium Industry Road |
| Office Zones | Four-Lane Road with Decorative Trees |
| Main roads | Six-Lane Road with Decorative Trees |
| For connecting wind turbines | Two-Lane Gravel Road |
| Highway | (Three-Lane) Highway with Sound Barrier |
| Intersection connections | Highway Ramp |
